During a recent appearance on the Connect Cast podcast, Nicholas Meregali addressed his stance on PEDs while discussing his lengthy absence from competition and upcoming return to UFC BJJ.
When reflecting on his career evolution and the physical transformations that accompanied his dominance from 2022 to 2024, Meregali made a revealing comment about his past approach to competition.
“I was always a very skinny and frail guy. And I lost matches because of a lack of physicality. I was always against anabolic st**oids, etc., blah blah blah.”
Meregali in 2017:
Meregali in 2019:
Meregali in 2022:
Meregali prior to ADCC 2024 and shoulder injury:
Meregali in 2026 vs following injury:
Meregali’s comment suggests that his previous resistance may have been a factor in earlier competitive setbacks, particularly regarding physical development and strength.
The Brazilian went on to explain that his career had many gaps when analyzing the four key elements he considers essential for success: mental strength, tactical awareness, technical skill and physical conditioning. According to Meregali, he possessed strong mental fortitude and technical ability throughout his career but lacked tactical maturity and physical projection during his earlier competitive years.
“I didn’t have those two, those other two aspects, the tactical and the physical.”
Meregali attributed much of his improvement in these areas to his training environment in the United States and working under a structured system that helped him understand tactical positioning and match strategy.
“Then, when I moved here and I started to understand a little bit. How John (Danaher) sees the jiu-jitsu, (and) that was naturally put into my game. It wasn’t something I chose, it just happened because of the way he analyzes jiu-jitsu, the way he studies jiu-jitsu, the way he teaches us jiu-jitsu with his system. I kind of came to understand this issue of grip control and tactical issues. ”
He clarified:
“How I need to position myself to dominate this person. How I need to defend myself”Meregali was quick to point to his shoulder break as a tactical error:
“Because of over-confidence I forgot tactics.”
His comments come at a significant moment as he prepares to return to competition after 17 months away due to multiple injuries requiring four separate operations. Meregali’s chosen promotion has also discussed starting testing in 2026 but it remains unclear whether this would include out of competition testing or apply only to champions.
Meregali is now walking around at approximately 220 lbs (100 kg) and competing in the 205 lbs (93 kg) and above categories for UFC BJJ.
It is notable to see Meregali express new found confidence in his physicality as he returns following a serious incident that could have ended his career.
